The Winchesters series has just proven itself capable of helping The CW's Supernatural franchise "carry on," as evidenced by the prequel's impressive premiere numbers.
The prequel, which has the distinction of being the first mooted Supernatural spinoff project to successfully become a series, made its debut on The CW on Tuesday, Oct. 11. An average of 757,000 viewers tuned in to watch The Winchesters premiere, according to Deadline. The number marks The CW's most-watched premiere since the Ava DuVernay-shepherded superhero drama Naomi premiered back on January 11. More promisingly (since Naomi was quickly canceled), it puts the show only slightly behind the 2021 premiere of Walker, which, starring former Supernatural co-star Jared Padalecki, also became a prequel-generating hit franchise for the network.
The series, set in the early 1970s, depicts the events that initially bring the parents of Supernatural's Winchester Brothers together. The story centers on Mary Campbell (Meg Donnelly), a member of a monster-hunting family who is searching for her missing father, Samuel. The quest puts her on a fateful collision course with John Winchester (Drake Rodger), a recently returned Vietnam War veteran, who is also fielding a personal quest involving his own family. His family mystery is one for which Supernatural has already provided some answers centered on the secret society of monster hunters known as the Men of Letters.
In a dynamic that arguably mirrors the Winchesters', Jensen Ackles, who played Dean in the original series, proactively took the wheel of the franchise's proverbial Chevy Impala as an executive producer on the prequel show, joined in that capacity by his wife, Danneel. Indeed, in a very Dean-like manner, Ackles -- who's obviously very protective of the property to which he's long been connected -- told the show's two young main stars, "I didn't work my ass off for 15 years to have you kids come in here and f--- it up."
Supernatural's Long Road to a Spinoff Series
As if the numbers didn't provide enough good news for The Winchesters, the premiere also reportedly stands as The CW's most-watched telecast overall since the hit series Superman & Lois aired its Season 2 finale on Jun. 28. While a promising start is no guarantee of a show's success (e.g. Naomi), the strong performance should come as a relief for The CW as it endures a massive restructuring of content made in the wake of the network's recent acquisition by media conglomerate Nexstar. That transition -- made amidst the current, content-canceling turbulence of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery -- has essentially marked the imminent end of the network's formerly thriving DC Comics Arrowverse shows, especially as flagship series The Flash prepares its final lap.
Supernatural put in an astoundingly prolific 15-season run on The CW before finally reaching the end of the road on Nov. 19, 2020, when the final episode aired. However, that bittersweet coda came by way of unsuccessful spinoff attempts, notably with Supernatural: Bloodlines, a story centered on warring dynastic monster families, which manifested on the main show back in 2014 with a backdoor pilot. More recently, the creative coalition attempted Wayward Sisters, which was to star Kim Rhodes as the popular main show character Sheriff Jody Mills, joined by her unconventional, monster-adjacent family of adopted daughters. Coming off a promising 2018 backdoor pilot on Supernatural, the series hopes would meet a similarly unsuccessful fate.
Pertinently, the prequel's premiere numbers affirm the ongoing viability of Supernatural for The CW, presumably making the victory taste much sweeter for fans.
The Winchesters airs new episodes Tuesdays on The CW.
Source: Deadline